GOP

Even if the GOP hadn't gerrymandered the House, even if Trump had won the popular vote, even if there weren't all these new voter restriction laws in place, the Senate still gives voters in smaller, whiter states more power than those in big diverse ones. This democratic defect was built in since day one.

Americans, and in fact the rest of the world, can no longer remain passive participants in how our cities and countries are run. Everyone has to speak up. And not just once, at an award show either. Every day, in every way. In emails, letters and voice mails to elected officials, by signing petitions, by marching locally and in our nations' capitals (peacefully) and on our own social media.

The down-ballot race going on right now isn't getting the attention it deserves. Not good, because the stakes are very, very high. So unless voters want the next four years to look like the last eight, they better show up at voting booths and pay as much attention to the bottom of the ballot as they do to the top.

How many debates have we endured? There have been so many I've lost count. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think there were 12 GOP debates during the primaries, five for the Democrats, plus one town hall, one vice-presidential debate and three presidential debates. Geeze Louise, talk about overkill.

One thing is certain. If he gets elected, she'll be out of a job. There won't be any immigrants to welcome, the Donald will see to that. And the very values America was founded upon, the very values that have made it the greatest, most powerful nation on earth, the very values that have attracted millions of foreigners in search of the American dream will cease to exist.

I see you. I see you lurking in the periphery of my Facebook feed, posting pro-Trump rhetoric and awful hate speech. I mean, you aren't saying the things presidential candidate Donald Trump is, but you are sharing them. You are siding with him. I could have blocked you. I could have hidden your posts from my view, or I could have just defriended you. But I didn't, and I won't.

The Donald Trump phenomena in the United States reminds me of our experience in Toronto, Canada, when a so-called everyman mayor who appealed to angry populism was elected. Ford's behaviour proved to be such a distraction that much of his agenda, such as it was, stalled at every step. Ford, like Trump, loved to attack people on their appearance, ethnicity and gender. Over time, personality-driven, badly behaved leaders will get to the point of alienating all but their most ardent allies.

The "big three" as I call them (the intolerant, the anti-intellectual and the undesirable) began to migrate to the GOP in significant numbers in 2008. These folks have remained in the party ever since, pushing it closer to their political agenda and off a political cliff. This is one American phenomenon that there should be no interest in embracing.

Do Republicans need to learn some lessons from Stephen Harper and Canada's Conservative Party in the wake of Mitt Romney's defeat? That seems to be the message from Canadian pundits this week attempti...